Pete Hartley
banner
pmghartley.bsky.social
Pete Hartley
@pmghartley.bsky.social
Sometime dramaturg, perennial scribbler, perpetual Prestonian.
Another extract from Will at the Tower. And yes, it was a dagger he saw before him.

uneasywords.com/2019/07/10/s...
Sigh no more
(Extracted from Will at the Tower) Will rubbed the ache from his eyes.  He could remember nothing of the night. The mattress beneath him was coarse and sank sharp shards into his naked back. The su…
uneasywords.com
December 11, 2025 at 5:32 PM
A seasonal excerpt from Will at the Tower the story of Shakespeare's secret seventeenth year at Hoghton Tower in Lancashire.
uneasywords.com/2018/12/07/s...
Sliced Mistletoe
A seasonal excerpt from Will at the Tower, a novel exposing William Shakespeare’s secret seventeenth year.
uneasywords.com
December 10, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Brief Encounter meets the Spy Who Came in from the cold.

Read the first chapter at:
uneasywords.com/2018/10/03/u...
December 9, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Reposted by Pete Hartley
We had mince pies and were merry at the #Northernfictionalliance showcase at Blackwell's Manchester! Craft book, The Subtle Art of Short Fiction is available from the lovely Blackwell's team or your local bookshop 😀 #books💙📚
December 5, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Briefish literary lacerations:

www.amazon.co.uk/Papercuts-sh...
December 4, 2025 at 7:12 PM
Nine seasonal ghost stories.
www.amazon.co.uk/Christmas-Pr...
December 3, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Breaking with Brockholes

Troubled over bridged water. The Artisan Author takes stock and casts off from the lake he once loved.
Breaking with Brockholes
Troubled over bridged water. The Artisan Author takes stock and casts off from the lake he once loved.
uneasywords.com
November 26, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Walking the Guild Wheel

A guided circular walk around some of the prettiest parts of the city of Preston in Lancashire, using public transport to break the journey into four parts.
Walking the Guild Wheel
A guided circular walk around some of the prettiest parts of the city of Preston in Lancashire, using public transport to break the journey into four parts.
uneasywords.com
November 18, 2025 at 1:41 PM
Whilst being weighed, Pete the hog took a peep at today's Lancashire Post which features an extract from Great Hedgepectations. All proceeds from the book go to Leyland Hedgehog Rescue.
www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Hedgep...
November 15, 2025 at 2:11 PM
Rockfall on Heartbreak Hill

A lack of appreciation for a 'missing' Strawbs album.
Rockfall on Heartbreak Hill
A lack of appreciation for a 'missing' Strawbs album.
uneasywords.com
November 5, 2025 at 8:38 PM
A ghost story to chill the owners of the (former) Punch Bowl pub near Hurst Green in Lancashire, who demolished the listed building and refused to rebuild it. Published in last Saturday's Lancashire Post.
October 27, 2025 at 7:09 PM
One year on from the unearthing of Modern Gothic, the spooky season is about to resurface. Sample some here:
uneasywords.com/2024/11/11/o...
One of those dreams
The first twelfth of the second story in Modern Gothic, an anthology of darkly mysterious fiction published by Fly on the Wall Press.
uneasywords.com
October 13, 2025 at 3:55 PM
Harris and Gromit

A response to the unwrapping of a refurbished museum and the grand unanimated marvels within. Plus a hunt to rediscover a mythical lover.
Harris and Gromit
A response to the unwrapping of a refurbished museum and the grand unanimated marvels within. Plus a hunt to rediscover a mythical lover.
uneasywords.com
October 10, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Concentric thoughts on war-makers from an arachnid.
A dictator’s handbook for self-abuse
Concentric thoughts on war-makers from an arachnid.
uneasywords.com
September 12, 2025 at 8:34 AM
A pedantic plea, that is probably too late, and warning to fellow scribblers, editors and publishers.
I was not sat but sitting
A pedantic plea, that is probably too late, and warning to fellow scribblers, editors and publishers.
uneasywords.com
August 29, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Making Myra has experienced a spike in sales since its cameo in the recent BBC documentary about the Moors Murders. Here's a post from 2018, explaining how and why we staged it.
uneasywords.com/2018/03/23/making-making
Making Making Myra
Researching, rehearsing and staging the reconstructing of an icon of evil The most unsettling moment was when Andrew stopped the car.  We asked why he had done so.  He said it was the place. Which …
uneasywords.com
August 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Still available for purchase and performance.
www.amazon.co.uk/Making-Myra-...
August 4, 2025 at 8:49 AM
14 years ago I wrote a play about Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. Last night I discovered that Brady had obtained a copy. I'm obliged to a former Drama student for informing me. I was planning on watching the programme on iplayer, and I'm not sure I'd have survived the shock if I'd not been forewarned.
July 31, 2025 at 5:47 PM
Dave Cousins: poetry in lotion

Earlier this month, singer-songwriter Dave Cousins died. There are many obituaries out there. I will not add to those. This, instead, is an attempt to explain how and why his work became vital to my spiritual searching, my creative impetus, my imaginary plundering…
Dave Cousins: poetry in lotion
Earlier this month, singer-songwriter Dave Cousins died. There are many obituaries out there. I will not add to those. This, instead, is an attempt to explain how and why his work became vital to my spiritual searching, my creative impetus, my imaginary plundering and my psychological balance.
uneasywords.com
July 24, 2025 at 3:24 PM
And here are my thoughts on The Talents, by Carl McGarrigle:
uneasywords.com/2022/07/07/t...
Tick-Wok
The Talents of Mr McGarrigle There’s the unique; then there’s the resplendently unique; and then there’s the regeneratively unique. The latter kind of uniqueness is one that conti…
uneasywords.com
July 20, 2025 at 6:08 PM
Tea and owls with Carl McGarrigle, author of the truly original fantasy The Talents. Tea and owls are in book 2.
July 20, 2025 at 12:10 PM
Today's Lancashire Post contains my latest tongue -in-cheek cultivation. The satire is probably only appreciated by those who have seen the great serpent of tuber-chewers snaking across Preston flag market and slithering into the labyrinth of social media to erupt from the tummies of PNE players.
July 19, 2025 at 12:18 PM